North Magnetic Pole

The North Magnetic Pole is the wandering point on the surface of Earth's Northern Hemisphere at which the planet's magnetic field points vertically downwards (in other words, if a magnetic compass needle is allowed to rotate about a horizontal axis, it will point straight down). There is only one location where this occurs, near (but distinct from) the Geographic North Pole and the Geomagnetic North Pole.… we agree on one point and that is the presence of what we can call the main magnetic pole on northwestern Prince of Wales Island. I have accepted as a purely preliminary value the position latitude 73°N and longitude 100°W. Your value of 73°15'N and 99°45’W is in excellent agreement, and I suggest that you use your value by all means. The North Magnetic Pole is the wandering point on the surface of Earth's Northern Hemisphere at which the planet's magnetic field points vertically downwards (in other words, if a magnetic compass needle is allowed to rotate about a horizontal axis, it will point straight down). There is only one location where this occurs, near (but distinct from) the Geographic North Pole and the Geomagnetic North Pole. The North Magnetic Pole moves over time due to magnetic changes in Earth's core. In 2001, it was determined by the Geological Survey of Canada to lie west of Ellesmere Island in northern Canada at 81°18′N 110°48′W / 81.3°N 110.8°W / 81.3; -110.8 (Magnetic North Pole 2001). It was situated at 83°06′N 117°48′W / 83.1°N 117.8°W / 83.1; -117.8 (Magnetic North Pole 2005 est) in 2005. In 2009, while still situated within the Canadian Arctic territorial claim at 84°54′N 131°00′W / 84.9°N 131.0°W / 84.9; -131.0 (Magnetic North Pole 2009), it was moving toward Russia at between 55 and 60 kilometres (34 and 37 mi) per year. As of 2019, the pole is projected to have moved beyond the Canadian Arctic territorial claim to 86°26′53″N 175°20′46″E / 86.448°N 175.346°E / 86.448; 175.346 (Magnetic North Pole 2019 est). Its southern hemisphere counterpart is the South Magnetic Pole. Since Earth's magnetic field is not exactly symmetrical, the North and South Magnetic Poles are not antipodal, meaning that a straight line drawn from one to the other does not pass through the geometric center of Earth. Earth's North and South Magnetic Poles are also known as Magnetic Dip Poles, with reference to the vertical 'dip' of the magnetic field lines at those points. All magnets have two poles, where the lines of magnetic flux enter and emerge. By analogy with Earth's magnetic field, these are called the magnet's 'north' and 'south' poles. The convention in early compasses was to call the end of the needle pointing to Earth's North Magnetic Pole the 'north pole' (or 'north-seeking pole') and the other end the 'south pole' (the names are often abbreviated to 'N' and 'S'). Because opposite poles attract, this definition means that Earth's North Magnetic Pole is actually a magnetic south pole and Earth's South Magnetic Pole is a magnetic north pole.